After having a PR at this race last year, I had my eyes set upon finally getting that sub-2 hour finishing time. But man was it hot and humid! I started the race with the 2 hour pacer, and was keeping pace nicely with them. However, at about mile 4, our group was stopped by a train for almost 5 minutes!

Once the train passed, the pacer picked up pace to get back on track to finish at 2 hours (since the main clock hadn't stopped for us). At that point, I had to mentally adjust to the realization that a sub-2 was not going to happen. I was able to find a running friend and we stayed together much of the rest of the race. She had no race expectations, since she had already run 8 prior to the race (training for the Berlin Marathon). I ran the final 5 miles with all heart (the night before having gotten bad news) and I learned so much about my ability to push through adversity.

It was not my best time, but given how hot and humid it was, I enjoyed this race, although not as much as the previous year. Medical staff was top notch, though!